Bodhi trees,
and single Bodhi leaves, are a symbol, reminding us of the Buddha's
enlightenment.

link to 3 pics

link

Trees are a common symbol for nature and for centuries
they have provided shelter for man and animal alike. Tree worship
was a common practice in India at the time of the Buddha. This can
be seen in the story of Sujata - offering milk-rice to the Bodhisatta
seated under a banyan tree on the eve of his enlightenment in the
belief that he was the deity living in that tree. Trees, in fact all
vegetation, are respected as 'one-facultied life' and there is a vinaya
rule giving them protection. The story is of a monk who was cutting
down a tree and damaged the arm of the tree spirit's child [see: COSMOLOGY].
She asked the monk not to destroy her home - to no avail. The spirit
complained to the Buddha and as lay people heard the story they too
'were offended and annoyed' so the rule was created for monks forbidding
'the damaging of any living vegetation.'

That the Buddha was sitting under a tree at the time
of his enlightenment has come to give trees even more significance
and most specifially the asiatic fig,
now known to Buddhists as the Bodhi Tree [bodhi = being awake, enlightened,
supreme knowledge] and universally, botanically known as ficus
religiosa (Latin). Bodhi trees are commonly found growing in Buddhist
centres all over the world.

The scriptural account of the Buddha's enlightenment
gives further significance to trees. We read that after enlightenment
the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days at the foot of the Bo-tree
experiencing the bliss of emancipation and radiating gratitude to
the tree. At the end of seven days he left the the Bo-tree and drew
near to the Ajapala (the Goat-herd's) banyan-tree
and likewise sat cross-legged for seven days. On leaving the foot
of the Ajapala banyan-tree he drew near to where the Mucalinda
tree was and, having drawn near, he again sat cross-legged
for seven days. [this is the prelude to the story of Mucalinda, the
seven headed naga (serpent-king) - see: COSMOLOGY].
(various renditions of the Buddha's life story can be found - see:
BUDDHA'S LIFE)

The first scriptural reference to the Bodhi tree being
established as an object of Buddhist
worship is in the Kalingabodhi Jataka. The layman Anathapindika (donor
of the Jetavana monastery where the Buddha was living at the time)
asked if there was a place or object of reverence where devotees could
pay their respects and offer homage when the Buddha was away. The
Buddha said that the Bodhi tree was such a thing and a seed of the
original tree was brought. A bodhi tree (the original?) can still
be seen on the site of the old monastery at modern Sahet Hahet (Savatthi)
in India.

BODH GAYAThe earliest records on the tree at Bodh Gaya
are in the 'Kalingabodhi Jataka', which gives a vivid description
of the tree and the surrounding area prior to the enlightenment, and
the 'Asokavadana', which relates the story of King Asoka's (3rd century
B.C) conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent worship under the sacred
tree apparently angered his queen to the point where she ordered the
tree to be felled. Ashoka then piled up earth around the stump and
poured milk on its roots. The tree miraculously revived and grew to
a height of 37 metres. He then surrounded the tree with a stone wall
some three meters high for its protection. Ashoka's daughter Sangamitta,
a Buddhist nun, took a shoot of the tree to Sri Lanka where King Devanampiyatissa
planted it at the Mahavihara monastery in Anuradhapura about 245 BC.
It still flourishes today and is the oldest continually documented
tree in the world.

In 600AD, King Sesanka, a zealous Shivaite, again
destroyed the tree at Bodh Gaya. The event was recorded by Hiuen T'sang,
along with the planting of a new Bodhi tree sapling by King Purnavarma
in 620AD. At this time, during the annual celebration of Vesak, thousands
of people from all over India would gather to anoint the roots of
the holy tree with perfumed water and scented milk, and to offer flowers
and music. Hiuen T'sang wrote "The tree stands inside a fort like
structure surrounded on the south, west and north by a brick wall.
It has pointed leaves of a bright green colour. Having opened a door,
one could see a large trench in the shape of a basin. Devotees worship
with curd, milk and perfumes such as sandalwood, camphor and so on."

Much later the English archeologist Cunningham records,
"In 1862 I found this tree very much decayed; one large stem to the
westward with three branches was still green, but the other branches
were barkless and rotten. I next saw the tree in 1871 and again in
1875, when it had become completely decayed, and shortly afterwards
in 1876 the only remaining portion of the tree fell over the west
wall during a storm, and the old pipal tree was gone. Many seeds,
however, had been collected and the young scion of the parent tree
were already in existence to take its place." The present Bodhi tree
is most probably the fourth descendant of that original tree to be
planted at this site.

The bodhi tree plays a very important role for Buddhists
of all traditions, being a reminder and an inspiration, a symbol of
peace, of Buddhas' enlightenment and of the ultimate potential that
lies within us all.

The little leaf links to a bit more information and
a few craft suggestions.